Vasiliás
by Camotaru
Summary: As destruction ravaged the land above, purging the world of all hope, a man wrapped in shadows laid a shaking hand on his son's lowered head. "This will be your final quest, my son. No matter what, you must save the world."
1. I: Blackjack

**Vasiliás**

 ** _Blackjack_**

 _ **I**_

As destruction ravaged the land above, purging the world of all hope, a man wrapped in shadows laid a shaking hand on his son's lowered head.

"This will be your final quest, my son. No matter what, you must _save the world_."

/*\

Blackjack used to be a pegasus.

Pegasuses didn't exist anymore.

 _Nothing_ like them existed anymore. Electricity, wind, water currents, solar power, natural disasters...

Gods.

Demigods.

Monsters.

All that was left were mortals. Mortals that were slowly dying.

Blackjack was once a proud pegasus who took great pride in soaring through the sky. Now, he was a simple, black horse, wandering the world in search for salvation.

And doughnuts. He was hungry.

The thought caused him to lift his head and breathe in deeply. Nope, no doughnuts. He could smell some former monsters, but they were all harmless, now. The monsters had changed to snakes, or seals, or other mortal creatures.

Blackjack would scoff, but he was a mortal horse, so... yeah.

Then, another scent caught his attention. No! It couldn't be...

Blackjack bolted off towards the scent without another thought.

/*\

When he came closer to the scent, he could tell his nose hadn't lied.

It was her! The hellhound!

Well, she was just a black dog, now, but it was still her!

Blackjack called out in greeting. The hound raised her head from where she was cheerfully sniffing out an old deer carcass.

Ears perking up, Mrs. O' Leary barked happily at the incoming horse. The two sniffed each other first (just to be sure), before touching noses and dancing around each other in joy. Blackjack whinnied in elation, before abruptly realizing that this kind of behavior did _not_ suit such a dignified pega – horse.

When he tried to explain this to Mrs. O' Leary, however, she just licked him on the snout.

And bounded away.

Blackjack froze. She wasn't – she couldn't be _leaving_ – he didn't want her to -

Then she turned around and cocked her head at him questioningly.

Oh. She wanted him to follow her. He knew that.

He followed.

/*\

They had been examining some bones when they heard it.

A whistle.

Mrs. O' Leary immediately perked up, barked at him, and raced off towards the sound.

Blackjack followed. He had nothing else to do.

When they got to the source of the whistle, he froze. It was a mortal (obviously).

But – but – he _knew_ this mortal! He wasn't – he hadn't been – he used to be -

This boy used to a _demigod_.


	2. II: Mrs O' Leary

**Vasiliás**

 _ **Mrs. O' Leary**_

 **II**

Mrs. O' Leary was so, _so_ , happy! After the Big Wrongness (as she liked to call it) happened, she had searched loyally for Old-Master – the demigod that smelled of water. But no matter how hard she sniffed, she couldn't find him! Mrs. O' Leary had been so sad...

But now she was happy!

Not only had New-Master found and cared for her, but she had also found the Horse-Wings! And it wasn't just any Horse-Wings, but the special one called Blackjack! Her friend! She had just started off by showing him her favorite bones, when she was interrupted.

It was her Call! Master was calling her! Oh! She could show him Blackjack!

With an excited bark, the dog tore off towards Master, Blackjack following behind her.

* * *

When Mrs. O' Leary arrived at Master's side, she discovered with no little joy that today was a Happy-Day. She could tell because Master wasn't tensed up as much, and the lines around his eyes were softer.

Mrs. O' Leary liked Happy-Days!

Master knelt down and stroked her softly, absentmindedly playing with his Finger-Thing.

"Hey, girl," he said in that quiet, raspy tone of his, "Guess what? I found out some new information about where some of the former demigods of Camp Jupiter are being held. Turns out a lot of the former giants and titans got a hold of some guns and other weapons. We're gonna go try and free them, alright?"

Mrs. O' Leary barked happily. Alright! Master was really nice. He always traveled alone (except for her, of course!), but anytime he saw someone in need, he tried to help them the best he could.

And he had said _former demigods_. They hadn't seen one of those since the Big Wrongness.

Then, Master raised his head and stiffened beside her. Mrs. O' Leary turned her head to see what her was looking at, ready to pounce and sink her fangs into any danger...

Oh! Blackjack! She had almost forgotten!

The horse was just standing there, looking a little dazed. Master's jaw had dropped open, and Mrs. O' Leary took this perfect opportunity to swipe her tongue across his mouth. What had Master had to eat today? Hmm... some water, stale meat – squirrel, if she was correct -

"Eww! Mrs. O' Leary, _gross_! Stop it, that's disgusting!" Despite the harsh words, Master was grinning as he wiped his mouth, so she counted it as a win. The tension in the air had dissipated, and Blackjack was huffing and rolling his eyes.

"I guess you're joining the party, huh? I can't believe it's really you, Blackjack..." Master reached out and patted the Horse-Wings on the snout gently. He shook himself to clear his head.

"Now, let's go free some demigods!"


End file.
